Alabama announces the hiring of Bill O'Brien as its next OC
After plenty of hints and speculation, Alabama has finally announced Steve Sarkisian’s successor. Nick Saban announced the hiring of former Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien as the Crimson Tide’s next offensive coordinator on Thursday evening.
“We are pleased and happy to be able to add Bill O’Brien to our coaching staff,” Saban said in a release. “He has a wealth of experience as both an offensive coordinator and head coach in the NFL and college. Bill is one of the brightest offensive minds in football, an outstanding teacher and excellent recruiter. He will strengthen our coaching staff and give our players the best possible chance to be successful.”
O'Brien replaces Sarkisian, who accepted the head coaching job at Texas earlier this month. Sarkisian earned the Broyles Award last season, leading an Alabama offense that ranked in the top five in scoring (48.5 points per game), total offense (541.6 yards per game) and passing offense (358.2 ypg).
O’Brien was fired by the Texans in October after suffering an 0-4 start to the season. However, his previous time with the organization was marked by success as he led the Texans to four AFC South titles over six full seasons. He also played a part in the development of quarterback Deshaun Watson, who led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards this past season.
Before coaching the Texans, O’Brien spent two seasons as head coach at Penn State. He was named Bear Bryant, Maxwell Football Club and ESPN National Coach of the Year in 2012 after winning more games than any other first-year head coach in the program’s previous 125 seasons.
O’Brien also spent five seasons with the Patriots working under Bill Belichick, a close friend of Saban’s. He coached in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI and was Tom Brady’s position coach during his 2010 MVP season.
“I am honored and excited to join Coach Saban’s staff at The University of Alabama,” O'Brien said in the release. “I have an incredible amount of admiration for the rich football tradition at this University and the success Coach Saban has had during his time in Tuscaloosa. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with some of the best football players in the country, while helping to continue the success this program has enjoyed for many years.”
O’Brien, 51, has a combined 28 years of coaching experience at both the college and NFL levels. He last served as an offensive coordinator with the Patriots in 2011. His last time working as an offensive coordinator was with Duke during the 2005-06 seasons as he also oversaw the quarterbacks. O’Brien held the same role with Georgia Tech from 2001-02.
O’Brien has previous experience working with newly-hired offensive line coach Doug Marrone as the two coached together at Georgia Tech from 1996-99. The two have remained close friends to this day. Alabama has yet to officially announce the hiring of Marrone, who was fired from his job as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this month.
O’Brien played linebacker and defensive end at Brown from 1990-92 and graduated with a double concentration in political science and organizational behavioral management in 1992. O’Brien and his wife, Colleen, have two sons, Jack and Michael.
While appropriate members of The Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms and conditions of these proposed hires, the financial terms remain subject to the approval by The Board of Trustees.
